Last
month I stumbled across a tweet on Twitter by Melissa Palmer (@vmss33) on 10 reasons
to be a competitor in Virtual Design Master Challenge (@VDMChallenge). http://vmiss.net/tech/top-10-reasons-to-compete-in-virtual-design-master/
and this prompted me to sign up.
In the
beginning, I had no idea what I was signing up for except that I will be doing some
kind of system design with virtualization and cloud technologies. I am a software developer for 20 years and am
trying to stay relevant in the industry and also trying to find my destiny in
the cloud industry.
After
I signed up as a competitor, I was embraced with warm welcomes from the Virtual
Design Master team and later on by other competitors. On July 10, I was given a chance to introduce
myself on Google+. On that day we were
given the assignment to design a system to “save the world”. It was during this introductory session that
Eric Wright (@discoposse) mentioned that this Virtual Design Master is not just
about winning but it is also a way to build a community.
And
yes, building a community.
On
July 17, 2014, I was given one minute to explain my design. The judges went easy
on me. I was eliminated in the first round as expected.
But
what did I win?
During
the design process, I learned a lot and now I am more ready to take the
VCAP-DCD exam. I got the encouragements to
keep going both from fellow competitors and others that are watching this
competition.
In 2010, virtualization is only a buzzword for me. In January, 2014, I got my VCP-cloud
certification. I have been struggling on
this journey alone for the past 4 years. The idea of building a community gave
me a whole new perspective. I don't have
to fight this war alone. I need to find
a community as I continue to find my destiny in the cloud industry. In this community, each one will contribute
and share what they know such that everyone is constantly advancing in their
knowledge, skill and/or career.
I am
really glad that I signed up for this Virtual Design Master. Eventhough I got eliminated in the first round,
in the end I won. I have gain fresh insight
on designing a system. I got to know new
people in the industry. In the month of August I am going to dig into the Cisco
UCS technology. From the competition, I know I need to be more proficient in
this area.
Another thing I would like is to blog more and be able to share what I have learn via this blog.
Please comment on this so I can learn and improve.
